SHAMI-MT is a specialized machine translation model designed to translate from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to Syrian dialect. Built on the robust AraT5v2-base-1024 architecture, this model bridges the gap between formal Arabic and the rich dialectal variations of Syrian Arabic.
Model Details
Model Type: Sequence-to-Sequence Translation
Base Model: UBC-NLP/AraT5v2-base-1024
Language: Arabic (MSA → Syrian Dialect)
License: Apache 2.0
Library: Transformers
Dataset
The model was trained on the Nâbra dataset, a comprehensive corpus of Syrian Arabic dialects with morphological annotations.
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Nâbra Dataset Details
Citation:
Nayouf, A., Hammouda, T., Jarrar, M., Zaraket, F., & Kurdy, M. B. (2023).
Nâbra: Syrian Arabic dialects with morphological annotations.
arXiv preprint arXiv:2310.17315.
Evaluation Criteria: Translation quality, dialectal accuracy, and semantic preservation
The model was evaluated using GPT-4.1 as an automated judge with the following structured prompt:
"You are a language evaluation assistant. Compare the predicted Shami sentence to the reference.
Please return a rating from 0 to 5 and a short comment.
MSA Input: [input sentence]
Model Prediction (Shami dialect): [model output]
Ground Truth (Shami dialect): [reference translation]
Respond in this format:
Score: <number from 0 to 5>
Comment: <brief explanation of the score>"
Score Distribution Analysis:
Excellent (5.0): High-quality translations with perfect dialectal conversion
Good (4.0-4.9): Minor dialectal variations or stylistic differences
Average (3.0-3.9): Acceptable translations with some dialectal inconsistencies
Below Average (2.0-2.9): Noticeable errors in dialect or meaning
Poor (0-1.9): Significant translation errors or loss of meaning
Performance Highlights
Strong Dialectal Conversion: Successfully transforms MSA into authentic Syrian dialect
Semantic Preservation: Maintains original meaning while adapting linguistic style
Regional Adaptability: Handles various Syrian sub-dialects effectively
Consistent Quality: Stable performance across different text types and domains
Applications
This model is particularly useful for:
Content Localization: Adapting MSA content for Syrian audiences
Cultural Preservation: Maintaining and promoting Syrian dialectal variations
Educational Tools: Teaching differences between MSA and Syrian dialect
Research: Syrian Arabic NLP and dialectology studies
Regional Coverage
The model handles multiple Syrian sub-dialects, making it versatile for different regions within Syria:
Limited to text-based translation (no speech support)
Dataset size constraints may affect handling of very rare dialectal expressions
Citation
If you use this model in your research, please cite:
bibtex
1@misc{shami-mt-2024,
2 title={SHAMI-MT: A Machine Translation Model From MSA to Syrian Dialect},
3 author={Omartificial Intelligence Space},
4 year={2024},
5 publisher={Hugging Face},
6 url={https://huggingface.co/Omartificial-Intelligence-Space/Shami-MT}
7}
89@article{nayouf2023nabra,
10 title={Nâbra: Syrian Arabic dialects with morphological annotations},
11 author={Nayouf, Amal and Hammouda, Tymaa Hasanain and Jarrar, Mustafa and Zaraket, Fadi A and Kurdy, Mohamad-Bassam},
12 journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2310.17315},
13 year={2023}
14}
1516@misc{onajar2025shamiMT,
17 title={Shami-MT-2MSA : A Machine Translation from Syrian Dialect to MSA},
18 author={Sibaee, Serry and Nacar, Omer},
19 year={2025}
20}
Contact & Support
For questions, issues, or contributions, please visit the model repository or contact the development team.